'Thank you': Denise Koch reflects on 40 years on air at WJZ

BALTIMORE - Reflecting on her 40th anniversary at WJZ, Evening Anchor Denise Koch is filled with gratitude.

"Obviously, I have to say thank you," Denise said. "Thank you."

Denise was quickly accepted by a mostly male cast at WJZ.

"I appreciated it when I was accepted, 40 years ago, as a woman," Denise said. "I had one manager say, 'Can you sit up there with all those men?' 

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Because back then, it was all male here at WJZ. I was grateful to the men, in particular Jerry Turner, who welcomed me to that news desk, who made me feel comfortable there, who taught me everything I know about TV because I didn't study it in school. 

"I'm extremely grateful for the people in the community who probably saw the rough edges that I carried with me in the beginning, and allowed me to grow and to age, you know? And accepted my family and accepted who I was. Thank you. What more can you say, except thank you from the bottom of your heart?"

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The Californian was actually an actress before coming to WJZ, and thought she'd only stay here for a few months.

"It was never a plan." Denise said. "Life just kept making sense. And I just kept just really loving and enjoying where I lived, and what I was doing. 

"I love people and story-telling. It's been the through-line of my life. Every time I go out and meet someone, I see where they live, how they live, who they are, and what they've overcome. Those things to me are the meaning of life. And that's the meaning of my job for me. Communicating how we all get through this life together. That's what keeps me here. People say, 'When are you gonna retire?' And at this moment, why would I? I still really love the essence of what I do."

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A Baltimore legend, Denise continues guiding us through the stories that matter most.

"A television is very intimate. You have it in your kitchen or family room, and your head is really big on that screen," Denise said. "So they probably do feel like they know me. They may know me more than my own family, in many ways. A week or two ago, I was just in the grocery store and this woman who worked in the grocery store, I never met her before in my life, she just walked by and she said, 'Hi Denise!' It really touched me. 

"It made me think to myself, 'I don't know this woman and she's never met me before, but she feels like she knows me.' Where else could I work where that would happen? That is the beauty of working in one town for 40 years and living in one town for 40 years. It's that you feel like you know, and you are known, and you're at home."

Thank you, Denise. We are grateful to you.